On March 11, the Giants left Scottsdale Stadium and headed west, driving about an hour for an exhibition with the Texas Rangers across the valley. They won 6-4. Before heading to a scheduled day off, manager Gabe Kapler announced that Johnny Cueto would be his Opening Day starter at Dodger Stadium.
Sixteen weeks and two days later, the Giants will be back together. Camp restarts Friday at Oracle Park, with players rushing in and practicing social distancing.
More than 100 days have passed since the last official training, but the Giants will try to continue where they left off. This week we will take a look at their position groups, remembering which players were at camp, which are joining, and which are fighting for jobs. First, the receivers:
Buster Posey
A full year and a half retired from hip surgery, Posye looked strong this spring, and the Giants people were excited about the possibility that some of their previous production would return. However, it is difficult to know what 60 games will mean to him.
Kapler can give Posey plenty of DH days to try and keep him cool, but with the Giants seeing themselves as contentious, they are going to want Posey behind the plate as much as possible, guiding a team of pitchers who won’t have a real rotation.
Posey turned 33 during the hiatus, but maybe he’ll be energized with a 60-game sprint. Years ago, he got used to catching every postseason pitch, knowing he could rest in November. You should be able to push yourself this year without having to worry about catching 110-115 games.
If the Giants are really going to stay in the race, they could really use a rebound. Last year, Posey had an OPS of just .688 and has only 12 home runs in the past two seasons.
Rob Brantly
Brantly played just one game last year for the Kapler Phillies. She followed Kapler to San Francisco and will compete with the next player on this list to be Posey’s backup. Brantly has experience in that role, having played 126 MLB games since 2012.
His best season was his first, when he hit .290 with three home runs and eight doubles in 100 at-bats. A left-handed hitter, Brantly had a .404 OPB last season in Triple-A for the Phillies.
The Giants plan to carry two receivers on their initial 30-man roster, with the possibility that a third party may travel as part of a three-player taxi squad (one of the three players must be a receiver). It seems likely that Brantly and Tyler Heineman take those two points in some order.
Tyler Heineman
Like Brantly, Heineman is an off-the-list guest who can provide balance behind the plate. The 29-year-old is a trade hitter and made his debut last season, going 3-for-11 for the Miami Marlins.
Heineman spent most of last year in Triple-A for the Marlins and the Arizona Diamondbacks, and posted solid numbers. In 73 games, he hit .336 with a .400 OBP and 13 home runs, tying his career record.
Like Brantly, Heineman didn’t get many at-bats (16) before spring training closed. This is one of those where you think Farhan Zaidi, Scott Harris and Kapler have a very good idea of who is the front-runner to back Posey, but Heineman and Brantly will have another three weeks to present their case.
Joey bart
The most dangerous catcher at the plate this spring was the 23-year-old who was second overall in 2018. Bart had seven hits in 16 at-bats in the Cactus League, including two home runs and a double. He was sent to the minor league camp just before the coronavirus shut things down, and the plan was for him to spend the start of the year in Triple-A.
Bart nearly made his debut sometime this season, and while the Giants don’t have it in their plans for Opening Day, he could still make the list in several ways. There will be injuries and, unfortunately, players who test positive for COVID-19, and Bart should be the next man after Posey, Brantly and Heineman. If the Giants are off to a rocky start, they may also decide to give Bart a cameo in September in preparation for 2021.
In the meantime, here is a video of what Bart would look like in the big leagues:
Chadwick Tromp
Not listed guest this spring, Tromp was not on the initial list of players the Giants released, but no one leaves Aruba just for fun:
Let’s get it! AUA SF️ SF
– Chadwick Tromp (@trompicalstorm) July 1, 2020
Tromp is 25 years old and it is rare for receivers to reach minor league free agency so young, so the Giants were happy to add him as organizational depth in the offseason. He faced some injuries as a prospect for the Cincinnati Reds, but had a .286 / .389 / .610 cut line in 26 Triple-A games last season.
Tromp was going to provide depth in the upper levels of the minors this season. Now he imagines he will spend most of the next three months in Sacramento, where the Giants will play games within the squad and three young catchers will be on hand to help keep veteran pitchers in shape.
[[[[RELATED: Allocation of key tickets for the Giants to compete in the short season]Patrick Bailey
The Giants announced Wednesday afternoon that they signed their North Carolina state first-round pick. Earlier in the day, MLB.com reported that Bailey would be part of the player pool.
There has been no official news from the Giants, but it makes perfect sense for Bailey, now one of the organization’s top five prospects, to train all summer with great players. In a strange way, Bailey could be in a better place than the best normal recruits.
Bart had 181 at-bats for Salem-Keizer in 2018 and Hunter Bishop had 85 last year. Bailey will miss those replays, but he’ll also spend some time at Oracle Park with the major league club and then two months in Sacramento, where he can potentially get at-bats against established major league pitchers instead of 19-year-olds. . The Giants can also immediately start working on their swing and reception.
This should prepare Bailey to start next year with High-A San Jose and try to follow Bart’s path to Double-A in his first full season.
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